"Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in America today. We urgently need to get the message across to children that smoking will destroy their lives and their futures," Senator Fuschillo said. "Tobacco kills more than twice the total number of people who die from AIDS, car crashes, breast cancer, suicide and murder combined. Working side-by-side with the American Cancer Society, we are educating kids about these deadly facts and trying to convince them to live a healthy lifestyle."

Students were advised of deadly chemicals used to manufacture tobacco products and how the tobacco industry uses advertising and marketing strategies to target them as potential smokers. Students were shown other products that contained many of the same chemical ingredients as cigarettes. Items included toilet bowl cleaner, rat poison, batteries, paint thinner, lighter fluid, moth balls and weed killer.

At the end of the presentation, each student received a "No Smoking Pledge" from Senator Fuschillo, which children can sign as a promise to stay away from smoking and commit to a healthy life.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than four million children between the ages of 12 and 17 are current smokers. Each day 3,000 children start smoking and each year 30,000 New Yorkers and 4,300 Long Islanders will die from smoking related illnesses. Almost 90% of all adults who smoke today began at or prior to the age of 18.

Senator Fuschillo is making his ‘No Smoking Pledge for Kids’ available to children throughout his district. He invites all children or parents to call his office at (516) 546-4100 to request a pledge packet and commit to say "no" to tobacco.